Elgin Baylor vs. Marcus Smart Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Marcus Smart and Elgin Baylor, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats / Stats Rankings

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Elgin Baylor played 14 years in the NBA, 2 more than Marcus Smart, who played 12. Elgin Baylor had the first of his seasons in 1958-59, while Marcus Smart had his rookie season in 2014-15. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Elgin Baylor	14	12	1958-59 to 1971-72
Marcus Smart	12	9	2014-15 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12


Rookie Season
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1958-59	2014-15
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	-	All-Rookie Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	70	40.8	24.9	-	-	15.0	4.1	-	-	-	3.9	8.6	21.2	.408	-	-	-	7.6	9.8	.777
difference:	+3	+13.8	+17.1			+11.7	+1.0				-1.3	+6.0	+14.1	+.041				+6.4	+7.9	+.131
Marcus Smart	67	27.0	7.8	0.9	2.4	3.3	3.1	1.5	0.3	1.3	2.6	2.6	7.1	.367	1.4	4.1	.335	1.2	1.9	.646

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	13	42.8	25.5	-	-	12.0	3.3	-	-	-	4.0	9.4	23.3	.403	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.770
difference:	+9	+20.3	+15.7			+9.2	+2.0				-1.0	+5.9	+16.0	+.080				+4.7	+4.9	+.237
Marcus Smart	4	22.5	9.8	1.3	1.5	2.8	1.3	0.3	0.3	1.0	3.0	3.5	7.3	.483	0.8	3.3	.231	2.0	3.8	.533


Season 2
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1959-60	2015-16
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	70	41.0	29.6	-	-	16.4	3.5	-	-	-	3.3	10.8	25.4	.424	-	-	-	8.1	11.0	.732
difference:	+9	+13.7	+20.5			+12.2	+0.5				-0.3	+7.8	+16.7	+.076				+6.0	+8.3	+.045
Marcus Smart	61	27.3	9.1	1.2	2.9	4.2	3.0	1.5	0.3	1.3	3.0	3.0	8.7	.348	1.0	4.0	.253	2.1	2.7	.777

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	9	45.3	33.4	-	-	14.1	3.4	-	-	-	4.2	12.3	26.0	.474	-	-	-	8.8	10.4	.840
difference:	+3	+13.1	+21.4			+9.6	+0.4				-1.4	+8.6	+16.0	+.107				+6.0	+6.9	+.030
Marcus Smart	6	32.2	12.0	1.3	3.2	4.5	3.0	1.7	0.8	2.5	2.8	3.7	10.0	.367	1.8	5.3	.344	2.8	3.5	.810


Season 3
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1960-61	2016-17
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	73	42.9	34.8	-	-	19.8	5.1	-	-	-	3.8	12.8	29.7	.430	-	-	-	9.3	11.8	.783
difference:	+6	+12.5	+24.2			+15.9	+0.5				-1.4	+9.4	+20.2	+.071				+6.7	+8.6	+.029
Marcus Smart	79	30.4	10.6	1.0	2.9	3.9	4.6	1.6	0.4	2.0	2.4	3.4	9.5	.359	1.2	4.2	.283	2.6	3.2	.812

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	12	45.0	38.1	-	-	15.3	4.6	-	-	-	3.7	14.2	30.2	.470	-	-	-	9.8	11.8	.824
difference:	+6	+15.1	+29.5			+10.6	+0.1				-0.9	+11.6	+22.8	+.119				+8.0	+9.0	+.184
Marcus Smart	18	29.9	8.6	1.3	3.4	4.7	4.7	1.5	0.9	2.1	2.8	2.6	7.4	.351	1.6	4.1	.397	1.8	2.8	.640


Season 4
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1961-62	2017-18
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	48	44.4	38.3	-	-	18.6	4.6	-	-	-	3.2	14.2	33.1	.428	-	-	-	9.9	13.1	.754
difference:	+6	+14.5	+28.1			+15.1	+0.2				-0.7	+10.7	+23.6	+.061				+8.1	+10.6	+.025
Marcus Smart	54	29.9	10.2	0.8	2.7	3.5	4.8	1.3	0.4	2.4	2.5	3.5	9.5	.367	1.4	4.6	.301	1.8	2.5	.729

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	13	43.9	38.6	-	-	17.7	3.6	-	-	-	3.5	14.3	32.7	.438	-	-	-	10.0	12.9	.774
difference:	+2	+14.0	+28.8			+14.0	+1.7				-0.6	+11.1	+23.2	+.102				+7.6	+9.6	+.039
Marcus Smart	15	29.9	9.8	0.9	2.8	3.7	5.3	1.7	0.7	2.4	2.9	3.2	9.5	.336	1.0	4.5	.221	2.4	3.3	.735


Season 5
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1962-63	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	80	42.1	34.0	-	-	14.3	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	12.9	28.4	.453	-	-	-	8.3	9.9	.837
difference:		+14.6	+25.1			+11.4	+0.8				-0.3	+9.9	+21.3	+.031				+7.0	+8.3	+.031
Marcus Smart	80	27.5	8.9	0.7	2.2	2.9	4.0	1.8	0.4	1.5	2.5	3.0	7.1	.422	1.6	4.3	.364	1.3	1.6	.806

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	13	43.2	32.6	-	-	13.6	4.5	-	-	-	3.7	12.3	27.8	.442	-	-	-	8.0	9.7	.825
difference:	+11	+27.2	+29.1			+11.6	+2.5				-2.2	+11.8	+22.3	+.351				+6.0	+6.7	+.158
Marcus Smart	2	16.0	3.5	2.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	1.5	0.0	1.5	1.5	0.5	5.5	.091	0.5	5.5	.091	2.0	3.0	.667


Season 6
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1963-64	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	78	40.6	25.4	-	-	12.0	4.4	-	-	-	3.0	9.7	22.8	.425	-	-	-	6.0	7.5	.804
difference:	+18	+8.6	+12.5			+8.2	+0.5				-0.3	+5.4	+11.4	+.050				+3.9	+5.0	+.032
Marcus Smart	60	32.0	12.9	0.7	3.1	3.8	4.9	1.7	0.5	1.7	2.7	4.3	11.4	.375	2.3	6.6	.347	2.1	2.5	.836

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	5	44.2	24.2	-	-	11.6	5.6	-	-	-	3.4	9.0	23.8	.378	-	-	-	6.2	8.0	.775
difference:	+12	+6.1	+9.7			+6.4	+1.0				-0.2	+4.4	+12.2	+.016				+3.3	+4.7	+.100
Marcus Smart	17	38.1	14.5	0.6	4.6	5.2	4.6	1.2	0.5	2.6	3.2	4.6	11.6	.394	2.4	7.2	.333	2.9	3.3	.875


Season 7
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1964-65	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	74	41.3	27.1	-	-	12.8	3.8	-	-	-	3.2	10.3	25.7	.401	-	-	-	6.5	8.2	.792
difference:	+26	+8.4	+14.0			+9.3	+1.9				-0.6	+6.1	+15.1	+.003				+3.8	+4.8	+.002
Marcus Smart	48	32.9	13.1	0.8	2.7	3.5	5.7	1.5	0.5	2.0	2.6	4.2	10.6	.398	1.9	5.9	.330	2.7	3.4	.790

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	1	5.0	0.0	-	-	0	1.0	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	2.0	.000	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-
difference:	+4	+31.6	+17.8			+4.4	+5.0				-2.8	+5.8	+11.2	+.439				+3.0	+4.2
Marcus Smart	5	36.6	17.8	0.8	3.6	4.4	6.0	1.0	0.2	2.8	2.8	5.8	13.2	.439	3.2	8.6	.372	3.0	4.2	.714


Season 8
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1965-66	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	Defensive Player of the Year
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	65	30.4	16.6	-	-	9.6	3.4	-	-	-	2.4	6.4	15.9	.401	-	-	-	3.8	5.2	.739
difference:	+6	+1.9	+4.5			+5.8	+2.5				-0.1	+2.2	+5.8	+.017				+1.8	+2.7	+.054
Marcus Smart	71	32.3	12.1	0.6	3.2	3.8	5.9	1.7	0.3	2.2	2.3	4.2	10.1	.418	1.7	5.1	.331	2.0	2.5	.793

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	14	41.9	26.8	-	-	14.1	3.7	-	-	-	2.7	10.4	23.4	.442	-	-	-	6.1	7.5	.810
difference:	+7	+5.7	+11.4			+9.6	+2.2				-0.7	+5.0	+10.1	+.037				+3.7	+4.5	+.004
Marcus Smart	21	36.2	15.4	1.0	3.6	4.5	5.9	1.2	0.2	2.5	3.4	5.4	13.3	.405	2.3	6.5	.350	2.4	3.0	.806


Season 9
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1966-67	2022-23
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	70	38.7	26.6	-	-	12.8	3.1	-	-	-	3.0	10.2	23.7	.429	-	-	-	6.3	7.7	.813
difference:	+9	+6.6	+15.1			+9.7	+3.2				-0.2	+6.1	+13.8	+.014				+4.9	+5.8	+.067
Marcus Smart	61	32.1	11.5	0.8	2.4	3.1	6.3	1.5	0.4	2.3	2.8	4.1	9.9	.415	1.9	5.6	.336	1.4	1.9	.746

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	3	40.3	23.7	-	-	13.0	3.0	-	-	-	2.0	9.3	25.3	.368	-	-	-	5.0	6.7	.750
difference:	+17	+6.3	+8.8			+9.0	+2.1				-0.1	+4.2	+14.1	+.085				+2.4	+3.4	+.050
Marcus Smart	20	34.0	14.9	1.1	3.0	4.0	5.1	1.3	0.3	2.3	1.9	5.1	11.2	.453	2.2	6.1	.361	2.6	3.3	.800


Season 10
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1967-68	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	77	39.3	26.0	-	-	12.2	4.6	-	-	-	3.0	9.8	22.2	.443	-	-	-	6.3	8.1	.786
difference:	+57	+9.0	+11.5			+9.5	+0.3				-0.3	+4.7	+10.3	+.013				+4.1	+5.3	+.018
Marcus Smart	20	30.3	14.5	0.3	2.4	2.7	4.3	2.1	0.3	3.1	2.7	5.1	11.9	.430	2.1	6.7	.313	2.2	2.8	.768

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	15	42.2	28.5	-	-	14.5	4.0	-	-	-	2.7	11.7	25.1	.468	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.679
Marcus Smart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1968-69	2024-25
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Memphis Grizzlies, Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	76	40.3	24.8	-	-	10.6	5.4	-	-	-	2.7	9.6	21.5	.447	-	-	-	5.5	7.5	.743
difference:	+42	+20.3	+15.8			+8.5	+2.2				-1.1	+6.6	+13.9	+.054				+3.9	+5.4	+.018
Marcus Smart	34	20.0	9.0	0.5	1.6	2.1	3.2	1.1	0.3	1.6	1.6	3.0	7.6	.393	1.4	4.1	.348	1.6	2.1	.761

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	18	35.6	15.4	-	-	9.2	4.1	-	-	-	3.1	5.9	15.4	.385	-	-	-	3.5	5.4	.649
Marcus Smart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Elgin Baylor	Marcus Smart
Season	1969-70	2025-26
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	54	41.0	24.0	-	-	10.4	5.4	-	-	-	2.4	9.5	19.5	.486	-	-	-	5.1	6.6	.773
difference:	+43	+11.8	+13.8			+8.0	+2.0				-0.6	+6.3	+11.6	+.084				+2.4	+3.7	+.165
Marcus Smart	11	29.2	10.2	0.5	1.8	2.4	3.4	2.2	0.2	2.4	3.0	3.2	7.9	.402	1.1	4.7	.231	2.7	2.9	.938

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elgin Baylor	18	37.1	18.7	-	-	9.6	4.6	-	-	-	2.8	7.7	16.4	.466	-	-	-	3.3	4.5	.741
Marcus Smart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years

* Elgin Baylor played 2 seasons more than Marcus Smart in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 13 to 14, from 1971 to 1972—Elgin Baylor didn't play in the postseason.

Elgin Baylor vs. Marcus Smart Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Marcus Smart and Elgin Baylor, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years